Passengers hoping to fly on US Airways out of Charlotte are facing long lines again Monday, as the airline recovers from a computer failure that delayed dozens of flights Sunday.

Lines in the ticketing and security areas were lengthy as early as 5:45 a.m. Monday, with US Airways finding new flights for passengers who weren't able to travel Sunday because of the computer problem.

The re-booked passengers added to what is always a busy Monday morning.

Ken Graham, who said he had flown into Charlotte on Sunday from Aruba but missed a connecting flight to Boston, was waiting Monday morning to leave.

"They say I'll be able to fly out this morning," he said. "I'm ready. I never expected this."

Flights were arriving and leaving on schedule Monday, and passengers said they hoped that operations would be back to normal in a few hours.

It was the third time in nine days that computer failures forced flight delays. The first, on June 10, was an across-the-system failure caused by a power outage near one of US Airways' data centers in Phoenix, Ariz., the airline said. The second came Friday and early Saturday, when United Airlines virtually shut down after a five-hour nationwide computer outage.

Sunday's 3 1/2-hour outage, beginning about 7:50 a.m., was limited to Charlotte, said US Airways spokeswoman Michelle Mohr. Lines were backed up at self-help kiosks that were slow, didn't work properly or crashed, forcing agents to do the work by hand.

A power outage during a Saturday storm is a potential cause, Mohr said. No flights were cancelled, but the airline continued to operate on a delayed basis to and from Charlotte for much of the day.

Yet, for many passengers, the damage had been done.

After a week in the N.C. mountains and a wedding Saturday in Raleigh, Sarah Thompson and Mal Griffin arrived in plenty of time for their 11:50 a.m. US Airways flight home to Fort Myers, Fla.

Yet at noon, they sat frustrated in seats in the terminal, rebooked on a 4:25 p.m. flight.

All week long, their plans had gone smoothly. Sunday, they'd turned in a rental car by 9:30 a.m. and boarded a shuttle bus for the US Airways departure terminal.

"The driver said to us, 'Oh did you hear about the computer outage at US Airways...?'" Thompson said.

When they arrived at the terminal, they found wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder people.

"It took 15 minutes to go five feet," Griffin said. "By the time we made it to a (self-help) kiosk, our plane was taking off."

The three outages demonstrate how much airlines rely on computers. Reservations and customer service are largely automated now. Passengers are urged to check in online, at self-help airport kiosks or by mobile phone - without the help of agents. Paper tickets are rare.

When computers go down like they did on Sunday, agents are pressed into action. US Airways' Mohr said more agents and customer-service personnel were called in to help organize the crush of people. She said many passengers were pulled from the long lines and helped to make their flights.

"We tried to do that for as many folks as possible," Mohr said.

Renee Giordano said she saw no "specific plan" at work.

She and her family were set to fly Sunday morning to a memorial service in Providence, R.I., and return Sunday night.

But their flight took off while they were still standing in line waiting to get printed boarding passes.

"We were just going for the day," Giordano said. "So rescheduling or waiting for a later flight was not an option."

She saw no effort to get people on planes.

"I understand that things happen, but the disorganization and lack of any specific plan was inexcusable," she said. "No one was communicating to passengers."

The outage also created problems for incoming flights.

Jeff Smith of Charlotte flew in from Philadelphia. But at Philadelphia International Airport, his plane taxied out and then sat for 45 minutes. Landing at Charlotte/Douglas, it sat for another 40 minutes "because the gates were a total mess," Smith said. "Then the luggage felt the pinch and that took another 40 minutes to come off."

By noon, the lines had thinned and "we are back to looking like a typical summer Sunday travel day," Mohr said.

Still, there were continued delays.

Bob Wilkens' 11:40 a.m. US Airways flight to Baltimore suddenly was pushed back to 1 p.m. He was trying to make it to his parents' house for a 4 p.m. surprise 50th wedding anniversary party.

Wilkens had to work Saturday, so Sunday morning was the earliest he could fly up.

"I had hoped to help with the party preparations," he said. "But, under the circumstances, my siblings are going to have to do it without me. At this rate, I'll be lucky to make the surprise."

Observer clerk Carmen Murphy contributed.